Andrew Zondo

Andrew Zondo (1966/67 - 1986) was an Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) operative.[1] He detonated a bomb at Sanlam Centre in Amanzimtoti on 23 December 1985, killing five people.

Early life

Andrew Sibusiso Zondo was born in 1966/67. He joined the ANC when he was 16 years of age, and went into exile. He initially wanted to further his studies in exile but eventually trained as a guerrilla in Angola for the purpose of fighting South Africa's apartheid government.[2] He grew up at KwaMashu Township which is situated in the outskirt of Durban. He attended Ngazane Lower Primar School, then went to Phakama Higher Primary and eventually did his high school education at Nhlakanipho High School in KwaMashu, before he left for exile around the 1980s. He did not complete his high school education. He developed an interest in politics at an early age.

Amanzimtoti bombing

On 20 December 1985, the South African security forces carried out a raid in Lesotho, killing nine anti-apartheid activists. In retaliation, Durban MK operatives including Zondo placed a limpet mine at the Amanzimtoti Sanlam shopping centre on 23 December 1985 killing two adults and three children and injuring 161.[1]

Irma Bencini (48) was one of those killed. Her stepdaughter, Debbie Scott, an Amanzimtoti resident, later said "I remember that day when we were all excitedly preparing for Christmas. I went to the then OK Bazaar near Sanlam Centre and my stepmother said she needed to go into the nearby supermarket. Within a few minutes I heard a loud bang and realized she was in danger. I rushed to the scene and found her body. She died instantly… My dad Mario has never been the same since then, and that incident will forever haunt us. Surely Zondo knew that planting a bomb in a supermarket was going to kill innocent people.[3]

Oliver Tambo, the former president of the ANC, said that the killing of civilians was against ANC policy, and accordingly he disapproved of the bombing, but understood the reasons for its being carried out.[4]

Death

Zondo was later captured on 29 December 1985 by the South African security forces.[5] He was prosecuted, found guilty and sentenced to death. He was executed in Pretoria on 9 September 1986. The judge that presided over this case was Justice Ramon Leon.[6] Two co-accused were acquitted in court but later extrajudicially executed by the Security Branch.[7]

Legacy

The Lovu Primary School was renamed Andrew Zondo Primary School[8] in honour of Zondo as a cadre of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). This move was vehemently opposed by political opposition parties in South Africa on the basis that as a convicted killer, he was a bad example to young children.[9]

Kingsway Road in Amanzimtoti was also renamed after Zondo.[10] This development also drew criticism from political opposition parties.[11] Their argument was that it was morally unjustifiable to honour a person who was a killer of innocent victims.

General Siphiwe Nyanda, former Chief of Staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), asked about Zondo's legacy, said "The fact that Andrew Zondo was engaged in such an act, [it] does not make him an outcast in our own vocabulary. He is still our hero, he is still a hero, I agree."[12]

References
  1. "Andrew Zondo" (PDF). SABC TRC. Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  2. "I hadn't intended to kill anyone -- Zondo". City Press. 27 November 2005. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  3. Roets, Ernest (23 December 2015). "Andrew Zondo, the Amanzimtoti bomb and the ANC's tainted heroes". Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  4. "Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) operations report". Nelson Mandela Organisation. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  5. "Andrew Zondo is executed". South African Online History. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  6. Yeld, John (22 November 2006). "Writer in Cape High Court war of words". Independent Newspapers. IOL. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  7. "1986: Andrew Sibusiso Zondo and two other ANC cadres". Executed Today. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  8. "Andrew Zondo Primary School". Schools South Africa. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  9. "New name for Amanzimtoti primary school". Independent Newspapers. IOL. 17 July 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  10. "Old and New Street Names in The EThekwini Municipal Area". Ethekwini Municipality. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  11. "Honouring a killer?". Independent Newspapers. IOL. 21 April 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  12. Roets, Ernest. "The Amanzimtoti bombing thirty years on". Politicsweb. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
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